With the snow season approaching, outdoor enthusiasts are preparing to enjoy the recreation offered on the slopes of the Cascades. Mt. Bachelor is one of the 13 major mountain resorts in Oregon and has one of the longest ski seasons in the country, which begins in November. While Bachelor has only seen about a dozen inches of snow so far, the ski resort projects it will have the minimum of 20 inches it needs to open sometime during the week of Thanksgiving.
When planning a trip to Mt. Bachelor or any of Oregon’s winter resorts, transportation is one of the first hurdles to overcome.

For those without a vehicle, Berg’s Ski Shop will run a shuttle service to Mt. Bachelor, which will leave the shop at 6 a.m. Saturdays and return around 7 p.m.the same night. Tickets cost $20 and must be reserved
in advance. Ullr Sport Shop runs a shuttle to Willamette Pass for $14 round trip, which loads daily at 7:15 a.m. and returns at 5:45 p.m. Reservations are required and can be made at the shop.
Gear can be rented from either of these locations prior to trip take-off or at the mountain shops. Getting gear beforehand helps avoid the long lines at the passes.
As an alternative to driving or shuttling, the Outdoor Program has a board of trip postings for the week. Trips are open to students and community members.
The Outdoor Program Future Trips clipboard has a trip to Sunriver for Thanksgiving weekend, initiated by senior Gabe Shaughnessy. The Outdoor Program will be renting a three-bedroom cabin with a hot tub. While students will purchase their own lift tickets, Shaughnessy said the benefit of an Outdoor Program trip is that shared expenses lower the cost considerably.
Sunriver is a 30-minute drive from Mt. Bachelor. There are various condos and houses that can be rented, and a number of lodges that cater to the winter sport adventurer. Bend is a 45-minute drive from Mt. Bachelor and has more options for a tighter budget.
Junior Sarah Kenney said she enjoys the perks of a family-owned a condo at Sunriver.
“I pretty much fell in love with it the first time that I went,” Kenney said. “My favorite thing to do is ride hard for about four hours and then go into the Pine Martin lodge and get some hot chocolate while I get warm.”
Mt. Bachelor boasts six lodges, seven restaurants and a 17,000 square foot retail and rental center. Its 71 slopes range in difficulty from chutes, bowls and treed runs for experienced skiers to gently groomed runs for beginners. Its computerized ski rentals, electronic ticketing and high-speed lifts give guests as much mountain time as possible.